Sash-balance



(No Model.)

No. 343,190.. Patented'June 8, 1886.

i713 l. ZP-9? L UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

JOHN IRA MCOARTHY, OF OLEAN, NEWT YORK.

SASH-BALANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 343,190, dated June 8,1886 Application tiled February 16, 1886. Serial No. 192,119.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Beit known that I, JOHN IRA MCCARTHY,

acitizen ofthe United States, residing at Olean, in the county ofOattaraugus and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in SashBalances, ot' which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in sash-balances; and it consistsin the peculiar and novel construction and combination of parts,substantially as hereinafter fully set forth, and specifically pointedout in the claim.

The present invention is especially designed as an improvement upon thesash-balance patented to A. B. Hester. on June 23, 1868, and numbered79,118. In this patent a single continuous cord is passed throughpulleys on the upper edges or rails of both of the sashes and overpulleys secured to the window frame, all the pulleys being arranged inthe middlev of the window,and consequently exposed to view. The pulleyson the window-sashes are attached to the upper rails thereof, and thefront windowsash carries a pivoted lever that is curved concentric withand bears on the pulley over which one of the free edges of the cordpasses, the other end ofthe cord being attached to the free end of thepivoted lever. This construction is objectionable, from the fact thatall of the devices are arranged in the middle of the sash and exposed toview, and they are in the way to obstruct the viewfrom the window, whenraising a curtain or other fixtures around the window. Both sashes inthis device are suspended centrally-that is to say, the supportstherefor are connected to the u pper rails at the middle, so that whenit has been used upon a sash having a single light or pane ofglass forsome timethe upper rail, upon which all the weight and strain comes, isliable to bend and get out of alignment, thus causing the glass tobecome loose and the said rails to bear against the frame and causeundue friction and wear. The pivoted lever is also objectionable, inthat it is necessarily operated each time the sashes are raised orlowered, and it causes undue wear upon the cord and soon rubs itthrough.

The object of my invention is to overcome the above-named objections,and to`provide means whereby the sashes are evenly and uni- (No model.)

formly balanced, so that they require but a minimum of power for theirsuccessful operation, the device being, furthermore, very cheap andinexpensive 4of manufacture, and durable and simple in construction.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly insection, of a sashbalance constructed in accordance with my invention.Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sec tional view thereof on the line x:r of Fig. 1. Figs.\3 and 4 are detail views of parts ofmy invention.

Referring to the drawings, in which likeletters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures, A designates the windowframe ofthe well-known class, and B and O the upper and lower sashes,respectively, of the window.

D designates a bracket, which is made in a single casting, and comprisestwo parallel plates, d, having an intermediate space and connected attheir upper edges by a transverse plate, d'. One of these castings orbrackets is secured to the upper end of the sides of thev window -frameat the middle, between the sashes, and these brackets are held in placeby screws e e', that pass through properly-disposed openings in theparallel side plates, el. A grooved friction-roller,.f, is mounted oneach of these screws e e', the screws e and the friction-rollers thereonbeing arranged at the upper edges and ends of the plates, and the screwe and its roller is arranged between the end rollers and below the planethereof, as shown in Fig. 8. G designatesasimilarly-constructed bracket,which is set in a vertical inclined position in one edge of one of theside rails of the lower sash, G, a recessed or cutaway socketor portion,c, being provided therefor. these brackets is provided in the outeredges of each side rail of the lower sash, and they are securedin placeby screws g, and on these screws are loosely mounted grooved frictio11-rollers g', which are arranged one above the other and a sufficientdistance apart to allow one end of an operating-cord to passtherethrough. The inner faces of the side rails ofthe lower sash aregrooved longitudinally, as at c', and the similar rails of the uppersash, B, are provided with a wide groove, b, and near the lower end ofeach of these grooves a friction-roller, b', is provided, that islooselyjournaled on one of One of y IOO the screws, b2, that secures acasting, b, ush with the vertical face of the side rail of the sash B.

H designates the operatingcords, one of which is provided for each sideof the window, to suspend the sashes at bothsides and preserve them inequilibrium. One end of cach cord is knotted or provided with a tasselor other ornament, as at h, and it then passes between the groovedrollers g', then up the groove c to the rollers f on the pins or screwse, and over the same down to the roller b on the upper sash, B, and thenup the window-frame againl to the roller f on the pin -e, and thence tothe other groove, c', in the front lowersash, where it is permanentlyattached. It will thus be seen that both of the sashes will be snspendedat their sides, and that they will counterbalanceone another, wherebythey can be operated very easily, and they are perfectly hung, sothatthey will move vertically very steadily and with little or no lateralmovement against the window-frame.

I designates hooks, that are secured to the corners of the lower sash,and which are provided with laterally-diverging arms having loops attheir free ends, through which are passed nails or screws to rigidlysecure the device in place.

The operation of my invention is as follows: If both the upper and lowersashes are lowered, and it is desired to raise the upper sash, the endsof the cords I-I are grasped in one or both hands, and a downward pullis exerted on the cords, which thus elevate the upper sash to its closedposition without affecting the lower sash, and when the upper sash isclosed the ends of the cords are hooked over and retained by the hooks Iat the upper corners of the sash.

When the lower sash is to be raised, an upward pull is exerted on thecords, which are elevated above the upper pulley, g', and the cordslides freely over the pulleys on the pins e, e', and bl Withoutaffecting the upper sash and raises the lower sash, which, when it hasbeen elevated sufficiently, is held in place by securing the free endsof the cords H in the hooks I at the lower corner of the sash C.

I attach especial importance to suspending the sashes at their sides andto the peculiar disposition of the rollers in the brackets D and G andthe hooks I, as therein lies the gist of my invention.

I am aware of the patent to J. R. Payson, numbered 18,708, and do notclaim the construction therein shown.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, 'anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combinaton, with the window-frame, of the upper and lower balancedsashes suspended at their sidesa bracket, D, secured to each of the sidepieces of the frame and carrying frictional rollers f, arranged asdescribed, a roller, b, mounted in a recessed portion of the upper sash.the brackets G, secured to the lower sash and having two rollers, g',arranged one above the other, and the continuons cords passing over therollers f, b', and y', and attached at one end to the lower sash, C,substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN IRA MCGARTHY.

Vitnesses:

WV. M. ABRAMs, J r., W. E. GRIswoLD.

